Fly Fishing The Middle Prong Of Little River (Middle Prong Trailhead To Its End)This includes the Middle Prong of Little River from the Middle Prong Trailhead at the end of the road downstream to its confluence with the West Prong of Little River. This section has a road that follows closely alongside the stream its entire length. The road is paved up to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute turn off and gravel until it ends at the Middle Prong Trailhead. The entire distance is about four miles. This stream is locally referred to as Tremont. It's formed by the confluence of Thunderhead Prong and Lynn Camp Prong which we will cover in a separate article.

This is one of the heaviest fished streams in the park at certain times of the season but void of anglers much of the summer months. It lies at a relatively low elevation and the water can get warm during the hot summer, especially in the lower section of the stream.

The Middle Prong is a beautiful stretch of water that's made almost too easy to access by the road. It consist of the typical run, riffle and pool configuration of freestone streams. I would call it medium in comparison to other streams in the Smokies. It contains mostly rainbows with a few browns in its lower section. The lower part also has a few smallmouth bass.

There's some areas of the Middle Prong where it is difficult to cast. Where trees line both sides of the stream, their limbs often just about cover the water; however, you can cast just about anywhere in the stream as long as you are careful and watch your backcast. Where the road comes up close to the stream, there's usually plenty of casting room. All in all, the stream is a pleasure to fish. It's easy to wade in most areas and getting around its banks isn't that difficult in most areas. It's a great dry fly stream but it has some deep, fast water sections that are ideal for short line nymphing and high stickin.

The gradient of this section of the Middle Prong is low to medium. There are plenty of long riffles and shallow runs. There are plenty of boulders and rocks in the stream ranging from very large to small sizes. The water has a lot of small pockets that change the flow of the water just enough that getting a drag free drift keeps you on your toes. There are a few plunge pools and a few large, deeper pools but most of them are relatively shallow. The gradient increases considerably in the headwaters but we will get to that in another article.

This section of the Middle Prong has only one tributary worth mentioning - Spruce Flats Branch. It's very small and enters the creek about three and a half miles upstream. The Spruce Flats Branch Trail starts near its confluence with the Middle Prong and provides some access but the stream is tightly enclosed with bushes and trees. Most anglers don't consider this little stream worth fishing.

The Middle Prong of Little River is a stream that anglers pay lots of attention to during the late winter and early Spring months when the Quill Gordons and Blue Quills hatch and then for some reason, they tend to ignore its hatches. This is especially true during the late Spring and Fall. There are several very good hatches that take place that are overlooked by anglers. The March Browns, Slate Drakes, Mahogany Duns, Little Black Caddis, and Green Sedges are some of them that most anglers overlook. They provide just as much action as the early season hatches and they occur during the times the stream's water temperatures are just fine.